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Thursday, March 23, 2017

Shining light on the human trafficker

He sits in the lurking places of the villages;In the hiding places he kills the innocent;His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair;He lurks to catch the afflicted;He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.He crouches, he bows down,And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.He says to himself, “God has forgotten;He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”-- Psalm 10:8-11

Photo by Kay Chernush for the U.S. State Department

The despicable exploiter portrayed in Psalm 10 counts on God "never seeing" his crimes as he lurks in the shadows. Likewise, today's human traffickers count on health professionals "never seeing" their crimes.
Many health professionals will recall seeing patients who raised red flags. Something about the injuries, the patient's affect or the person accompanying the patient didn't seem right.
In fact, a study of rescued victims revealed that nearly nine in ten victims during their captivity had been taken, typically by a pimp or trafficker, to see a health professional. But researchers found no evidence that any health professional had reported a single one of these victims.
Imagine the difference in the life of a victim—think of her as your own daughter--if just one health professional had asked a probing question or made a phone call to authorities.
Thankfully, awareness campaigns and medical curricula are helping professionals learn to spot the signs and take appropriate action. The Christian Medical Association, for example, has developed ten online training modules with continuing medical education credit to equip health professionals with lifesaving skills.
Alert and action-ready health professionals can shine a light to break through the shadows in which the trafficker lurks. The God who remembers the victim and sees the injustice can use you in His plan to rescue, redeem and restore precious individuals.
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